Mamdani presses for tax hike on New York’s wealthiest as budget deficit looms

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mayor Zohran Mamdani says New York City is facing an unexpected $10 billion projected budget deficit in the coming year and plans to push state lawmakers to increase taxes on high-income New Yorkers and corporations to close the hole. “We must raise taxes on the wealthiest few in New York City so that we can invest in the many," the newly elected Democratic socialist mayor of the country’s largest city said in an interview Tuesday.

During the campaign, Mamdani pledged to raise taxes on millionaires and corporations to help fund his ambitious affordability agenda. But the plan drew swift rebuke from the city’s elite, who said a tax hike would drive the wealthiest out of New York. New York Gov.

Kathy Hochul, who would have to sign off on the increases, has said she opposes income-tax hikes but has previously been more open to a potential corporate-tax increase. Mamdani said in the interview that the tax increases were now urgently needed to meet the moment. “New York City has not seen a gap of this scale since the Great Recession," he said, referring to the 2008-09 financial crisis.

He added that his administration has already begun conversations with state officials. Hochul’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Mamdani also wants Albany lawmakers to increase the amount of state funding the city receives.

The mayor, who took office Jan. 1, must present his first preliminary budget for the next fiscal year in February, kicking off months of wrangling with city council members over spending before the deadline for a final budget in June. Despite the yawning hole, Mamdani said he plans to present a balanced preliminary budget by pursuing savings and looking for